Chapter 38: Iron Dragon (2)

“Excuse me sir?” Thadius asked as calmly as he possibly could.

“Y-yes sir!?”

“Are we the only competitors?”

“N-n-no. There are three other entrances into the coliseum, s-so there are three other gates with competitors.”

“I see..” The smile faded from Thadius’ face. At the mention of even more opponents, his Fighting Aura had caught fire, threatening to burn him from the inside out.

Not yet….

“Is everyone ready!?” the organizer cried out. Taking another nervous glance at Thadius. Everyone nodded.

“Then please enter the arena, and don’t start fighting until the drums sound!” the organizer said as he nodded to the men outside. The gates slowly opened.

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Thadius activated his Concentration as soon as the gate was up. Everything slowed down, and every movement he made was deliberately slow as he walked out. Other competitors walked around him in a wide berth while they rushed out the gate. Warriors and other melee classes spread out in the middle, sizing each other up and appraising equipment. Archers and mages took the outside perimeter, picking their targets while keeping an eye on each other.

Thadius ignored all of them. His eyes were down as he walked to the very center of the arena. No one had wanted to be in the middle when the fight broke out, so all eyes turned to him as he took the hotspot.

Thadius bent down and grabbed a handful of the ancient sand. How many men had fallen in this very spot? How many people had immortalized themselves on these grounds? Such questions were the only thing on Thadius’ mind as he rubbed the sand against his sweaty palms.

His pulse thundered in his ears as he slowly drew his shield and sword. There were at least 70 people in the arena, and they all knew he was dangerous. Even though his equipment was of low quality, his pressure told a different story. The only question was, exactly how dangerous was he?

The drums of battle sounded throughout the silent arena. The audience held their breath, and none of the competitors moved. They all wanted to see what the man in white would do.

’Not yet’ Thadius willed himself. He turned his head to look at the closest opponent, and raised his sword to call him out. As if a spell had been broken, the warrior charged Thadius with his sword raised high.

Thadius zeroed in on the warriors neck, looking for any sign of the chain that signified a status card. He had no qualms killing Travelers. To them, death was but an inconvenience. He was; however, reluctant to end the life of an NPC. They only had one life to live.

The man that ran towards him showed no signs of a tag, marking him as the first victim of the day. Thadius swayed as the sword came down at him. The speed was laughable, and he turned the blow aside with ease. With his opponent off balance, he aimed for the collar of his armor. The sword pierce the warriors neck, severed arteries, and punctured a lung.

In moments the unfortunate warrior was sliding off of Thadius’ sword to the ground.

[You’ve killed Glorious Ross in single combat.

+242 Fame ]

[You’ve leveled up

You’ve leveled up

… ]

The crowd went wild, signifying the official start of the bloodbath. Archers nocked their arrows, Mages prepared their spells, and warriors charged each other.

In the center of the arena, 3 fighters charged Thadius, aiming to bring him down early. The Traveler on the right went down just as quickly as the first. Thadius smashed his face with the edge of his shield and quickly slashed his throat.

[Thomas Fancy killed in single combat.

+198 Fame]

[You’ve leveled up

You’ve leveled up

You’ve leveled up

… ]

Thadius turned to face the other two. One of the attackers was equipped with thick leather armor. The other looked to be a warrior type, and was armored from head to toe in massive steel plating.

The rogue hid his presence, or tried too, and circled around him. The steel plated warrior charged from front.

"Piercing Thrust!" the warrior cried.

Thadius watched his opponent’s sword carefully while keeping tabs on the sneaking rogue with his Aura and Sense Presence. Time seemed to slow as he watched the warrior lose himself to the skill while red after images followed his every move.

’This is!’

Thadius’ nearly lost his head to the thrust in his momentary lapse, but he ducked and raised his shield in time to deflect the blow. A fierce screeching rang in his ears as the steel blade shave his iron shield. It was at this moment when the rogue decided to strike.

He’d thought he’d caught Thadius on his knees and unaware. Yet, he received a surprise of his own when Thadius disappeared right in front of his eyes, reappearing behind him to thrust a sword into his back. Unfortunately, the material was much too tough, and the rogue escaped to hide his presence again.

Thadius wouldn’t give him the chance. Following the afterimages from before, he tried using Piercing Thrust: a quick lunge, with a subtle twist of the wrist. Thadius made the twist perfectly, but he’d lunged too far. The result was a light stab into the rogue’s abdomen.

’Dammit! I should’ve known it wasn’t that easy!’ Thadius cursed silently as the plated warrior came in for round two.

“Triple Slash!” the man cried out.

Thadius swayed with his opponents sword, letting his shield barely touch the steel as he guided every strike. A tracing of the move followed, and this time, he was ready. A monstrous Triple Slash was unleashed with a speed and strength behind it that made the previous one seem like child’s play.

The first slash came from below and removed the warrior’s helmet. The second slash was a spinning attack from above, slashing opening the warrior’s face. As he crashed ground, a glint of a silver chain flashed around his neck.

’Dammit! Thadius cursed as he slowed down the final slash.

The rogue had jumped up behind him, and was planning to strike from the air. Carrying the momentum of the third slash, Thadius swept low and flipped horizontally, slicing a large cut in the rogue’s thighs. They both fell to the ground, but Thadius fell on his shield and rolled upright. The rogue wouldn’t be standing anytime soon.

[You’ve learned Triple Slash LV. 19 Intermediate]

Thadius quickly surveyed the battleground. To say it was a mayhem was an understatement. Flames could be seen on the other side of the crowd. Giant towers of rock rose up from the ground where an archer had perched himself on top, only to be shot down by another archer.

Several presences approached him then. They had watched his previous battle, and felt that they could overwhelm him with numbers. He could tell by the way they looked at each other that they were cooperating.

Five warriors, two rogues, and an archer. Eight on one. The odds were against him, but Thadius’ Holy Fighting Aura was fitting to burst from the challenge. If he didn’t let in out soon, he would explode. As he thought that, the rogue he let get away, latched onto his leg.

“Get ‘im!” he cried out.

A brief lapse in concentration was all it took to end up dead. That’s what Thadius learned at that moment. He barely dodged an arrow because he was unable to pivot to his shield arm, and it slashed his cheek. Taking advantage of his immobility, the others came in all at once to attack. It didn’t matter who killed him as long as the threat to their tourney spot was dead.

“Final Wave!”

“Hurricane Cuts!”

“Heavy Smash!”

They all cried out their skills as Thadius’ skin burned with his Aura, and just when he thought he’d combust, he let it out. A terrifying roar echoed through the stadium and steam rose from from his skin. 20 people instantly dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.

Thadius’ Holy Fighting Aura had capped, and as money can burn a hole in one’s pocket, his Holy Fighting Aura nearly burned a hole in him. With half of it spent to power his Dragon’s Roar, his body cooled down. It seemed that he would have to constantly spend it during combat, or risk the burn.

With his Aura flowing through him, and stretched to the limit, Thadius stepped on the fainted rogue at his feet. There were skirmishes all around the arena, and Thadius was eager to hop back into the fray.

When he turned to stalk the ranged fighters at the edge of the battlefield, new victims came to attack him. Thadius used his shield to ram an NPC rogue that came too close, successfully using Piercing Thrust on her shoulder as she was blown back from the force.

[You’ve successfully learned Shield Bash LV. 1 Novice ]

[You’ve successfully learned Piercing Thrust. LV. 2 Novice ]